How do you prepare for grad school after a gap year?

[shoestofollow]

Hi folks! I'm sorry if someone's already made this topic. I thought it would be useful for people in the same boat as I am.

Basically I have not been in school since January 2016, and I am nervous about getting back into the swing of things. I've had a full time job since then and what with moving to a new apartment, and dealing with some physical health issues, I just have not had the time or energy to read as much as I would have liked to. Which makes me verrrrrrry nervous.

How are you all gearing up for grad school in the Fall? Are you reading more? What are you reading--novels, theory, articles? Do you have a list, and if so how did you compile it?

[loganondorf]

Congratulations on getting back in the game! I'm in a similar situation; I've been out of school since May 2015, so I definitely have some nerves about jumping back in. I asked several professors from the program I'm going into what they recommended, and the one thing they all agreed on was that I should spend the summer reading for pleasure, traveling, or doing whatever I want before the program starts.

That said, they also recommended making sure my languages are up to par (I mentioned that I was worried about them, since I've been out for awhile) and reading some of the most relevant new scholarship. Each professor I asked had several suggestions for reading; if you reach out to one or two people at your programs and ask, I'm sure they'll point you in the right direction. I ended up buying several of the recommended books and a few language textbooks and I plan on working through them all before August.

[lesabendio]

While it's always a good idea to give yourself a head start and to get ahead of things, don't worry about it too much. I had taken 6 years off and hadn't been in school since graduating with a BA in 2010. You'll most likely take an Intro to Grad Studies seminar your first semester/quarter, in which you'll probably be introduced to contemporary approaches to methodology, critical theory, professionalization, and so on. In any case, you'll have the next 7+ years to fulfill your language requirements, research, bone up on theory, and read enough journal articles to make your head spin. So, please enjoy yourself this summer, decompress from the stresses of applying to graduate school. If you're able, take time off to do something fun--travel, backpack, visit family. Binge watch that netflix show you've sacrificed to application season. Whatever.

But if you must satisfy the itch to do something grad school-related (beyond the administrative, residency stuff), I recommend reading The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities by Eric Hayot. My DGS taught certain chapters of it in our intro seminar. It's indispensable, and it's honest about the professional forms of writing we are expected to master as scholars. Among other things, it also covers techniques on how to develop productive work, writing, and reading habits. 

[silenus_thescribe]

I took a gap year as well -- partly because I was burned out, partly because I had a great job in a field outside of academia that I'd been wanting to work in -- and it was invaluable to getting me prepared for grad school. In fact, I think a lot of doing the 9 to 5 and being disciplined is good preparation for grad school, even though it's not specifically academic. The weekly work schedule for a grad student/academic can be so scattered and weird (80 percent of my on-campus duties/classes this semester happen on Thursday and Friday), so the discipline of a 9 to 5 is quite useful, as is getting used to paying the bills and other "adult" or "real world" things. 

As for specific academic preparation: I tried to keep a pulse on the key journals in my field, reading articles as I could (I didn't have access to the main academic databases during my gap year). I would also make myself read novels/plays diligently and at least every day; while I do enjoy reading and usually don't have to strap myself in to do it, getting pre-ready for the discipline of grad school reading was really important. Even on days when I didn't *have* to read a big chunk of text, I'd make myself do it. I also joined some local reading groups as a means of reading accountability; somewhat masochistically, I joined a philosophy reading group for a reading of Kant's Critique of Judgment.